Nguyen Kim was a Vietnamese statesman who was the ancestor of the famous Nguyễn Lords who later ruled south Vietnam. During his rule, the war with the Mạc dynasty started.

The Mạc dynasty (1527–1677), officially Great Việt, was a Vietnamese dynasty which ruled over a unified Vietnam between 1527 and 1540, and northern Vietnam from 1540 until 1593. The Mạc dynasty lost control over the capital Đông Kinh for the last time in its wars against the Later Lê dynasty and the Trịnh Lords in 1592. Subsequent members of the Mạc dynasty ruled over the province of Cao Bằng with the direct support of the Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties until 1677.